


Redemption of A Soul

by CassanderRoshack



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Other, Post Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-04
Updated: 2013-12-05
Packaged: 2018-01-03 12:02:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1070252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassanderRoshack/pseuds/CassanderRoshack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki is taken back to Asgard to receive his punishment for his crimes after the war in New York City. Everyone has demons after what happened there, though some have decided to put their problems behind them.  Thor has other plans than what Fury and the other Avenger's planned for. None of it includes getting Loki hurt again either. Odin is faced with a challenge to choose between his sons. Loki is sentenced and soon the Avengers have to deal with the fact that maybe Loki isn't as bad as they all thought regardless of what happened in New York.</p><p>Edited by the terrifyingly beautiful WrittenFIRES on AO3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just saying, this has almost NOTHING to do with canon except that Loki is taken back to Asgard to be given his punishment against the people of Midgard and Asgard. There isn't really anything to warn you about except a smooch.

"We are marked by our shame and redeemed by our faith, Loki. I know things have happened that can not go without notice... but will you have faith in me?" Thor whispered. He gently removed the mouth cage from his brother's lips, then unlocked the handcuffs. Loki's green eyes failed to meet his; anger still fiery inside them. For once his silver tongue had yet to find an answer- more to give him time to think about escape. He opened his bruised lips to speak, "Aye." If only to make his so-called brother shut up. His heart felt black and heavy just looking at the other.

They walked into the council's chambers where their father waited with the other high Asguardians. "You summoned us, father." Thor looked up at Odin. The ruler had a mix of pain and anger in his own features. Loki instinctively licked his bleeding lips. He never treasured his ability of speech until now. If kindness would allow him, he would massage the abused skin- torn and bloody from the muzzle- and kindly ask for something to wash the foul taste of rust from his mouth. Alas, he knew he would never be allowed that. Especially now. 

Odin sat upon his throne. His eyes- much duller than Thor's- glaring at his trickster son whom had betrayed and destroyed them. Furthering his hatred of the frost giants and belief ragnarok will be brought down upon them all by Loki. Their father glared down at the both of them as he snorted at the actions of his sons; their expressions. "Monsters are not born, they are created." Odin growled, "I should have left you there!" Thor put a comforting hand on his younger brother's shoulder. Loki did not know if his brother could feel him quivering in a sickening mixture of sorrow and fury. How dare Odin. After all he had done to him!

Loki had learned to mask his emotions and stood there caring for his damaged mouth. He knew what he had done and listened to the court drawl on and on about how he had wronged Asgard, Midgard, and Jotunheim. He did not give them the satisfaction of seeing their words affect him. He wanted to smite them all, to hit Thor for taking him back where he was hated, to burn down the palace and just- just- a small part of him wanted something else though. To be held by his mother; to be told by Thor he would have his back. To see his friends and his room once more. To be home. Yet Thor was no longer his brother. It was just a show. A lie built up all these years; one more masterfully crafted than the ones Loki could sew together. The friends were nothing more than pawns of Odin. They had sent Thor to capture him. Not bring him home.

Odin's face turned a deeper shade of red than it was already and stood before pacing before his throne as the council finished off reading the list of offenses. Thor knew it was not going well and he stepped forward. "Father, we must understand what Loki-"

Odin rounded on him. "SILENCE!"

Thor swallowed before speaking again with a determined expression. "I will not." He turned just slightly to touch his brother's hand. Attempting to show Loki he was there for him; even if he did not believe it. Their father's face grew deeper red until it was nearly maroon. "I will not stay silent when you are condemning loved ones. He was raised not knowing what he was. I'm sure that I would have reacted similar to the way he did if I had been in his position!" Thor wet his lips anxiously. He would surely receive a lashing for this later- or worse. "Loki was trying to prove himself to you. But through the wrong ways! We have all done idiotic things in our lifetime and this was definately wrong but in the end he was just trying to make himself worthy in your eyes!"

Loki let himself slip for once. His ragged mouth fell open to gawk at Thor's words. He was protecting him after everything he had done. The man whom he stood in the shadow of all these years was doing a selfless act to defend him. Loki narrowed his eyes; a plot. It must have been. He finally spoke with slight anger but more confusion than anything else. "Thor…."

The thunderer looked back at him for a moment; willing him to silence. "Shh, Loki. You will have time to speak." The council was angrier than ever before and Thor knew he needed to calm them down before Loki spoke. He knew if he did not soothe them Loki would either have his mouth sewn shut or worse. Neither of those things he was willing to let happen.

"Father, I beg of you. This was not all of his doing. Not only was he trying to prove he could win your approval. Regardless if you saw what you did or not, you did favor me. He was stabbed by one of the frost giants with a piece of the Tesseract from when it was shattered all those years ago. You are aware of its abilities to force out one's… darker side. I ask you to favor your other son now, this was not his fault."

Odin looked down upon them. His face returned to an almost normal color after a moment. "If I show mercy on him, who is to say that I can show mercy on every kin of mine? Would you let me withhold punishment if you were in this position? I can not let him go simply because he was driven to it by other means- regardless he was still the hand that dealt the chaos." His words were met with a roar of approval from the court around them. "Loki, I have sentenced you-"

Thor stepped forward suddenly; guarding Loki from his father's view and almost snarling out the words, "I will take his punishment. By our laws, a man can take the punishment of another man if he stands in his place."

Loki had no idea how Thor knew about the battle where he was stabbed by a piece of the Tesseract by one of the frost giants. He had told no one that… almost forgotten about it completely. Was it possible… he had been controlled into believing all of this? No… but then where did these feelings of regret come from? He was the God of Mischief for Odin's sake; he should not feel regret. Yet then Thor said the words, "I will take his punishment!" And Loki's idea of what was going on shattered. He released harsh breath. "Thor, please! You don't know what the punishment is!" He spoke rapidly as he leaned down. "They could kill you, Thor!"

Thor cast a soft smile over his shoulder. "So be it." He whispered only loud enough for Loki to hear, "I'd sacrifice my beating heart before I'd lose you, Loki."

Odin's gaze dropped in shock. The council was silent around him until a woman whom had stayed silent in the background until then came forward. "All-Father, it would be more damage to Loki if we did punish Thor instead."

No one seemed to recognize her right away and Odin looked at her calmly. "Leave us, Servant, before I punish you as well!" The woman scampered away knowing she should not have spoken. He turned back to his sons. "No.... I do not wish to punish both of my sons. Thor, you have asked to take Loki's punishment. Why? You are innocent."

The thunderer shifted in his armor. "No one is completely innocent, Father. Loki does not deserve death."

Despite all of his rage, Loki never wanted Thor dead. Between his mother and Thor... as the Midgardians would say, "they would be the only one to rescue from a burning building." "Thor, stand up! Do not do this!" He ordered. He tried lifting him by his armor with one hand as his eyes flickered to Odin. "You saying it, that's enough for me! Don't you dare get yourself killed trying to be noble you fool." He felt weak in his own eyes; small among the council. He swallowed hard as his gaze swept around the room.

Thor ignored his brother's pleas. He remembered a day in their past when they had been playing as teens. One of the beasts of Asgard had come from behind him. If it was not for Loki pushing him out of the way, he would be dead and Loki would be in line for the throne. Thor realized Loki had been set back because of his linage and was unwilling to let it happen anymore. "Loki, all I have ever done was for you. If ever you have been cast under my shadow, it was to protect you from hatred and the cruel world which brought us apart so many times. I will not let them harm you. Not now, not again."

Odin sighed and sat with a hand running through his snow white hair. "Go. Do not come back to Asgard; either of you. That will be your punishment. I will split it between the two of you. You both will have your powers and be immortal for all eternity. If you defend each other so well now, I hope you will survive in the human's realm. This is my decree." He scowled as most of the council began voicing their protests. "Leave and never return."

Thor nodded as he stood to take Loki's arm. "Goodbye, father. Tell mother I love her." He turned; his cape swishing with the motion as if he did not care in the slightest.

Loki stood there in shock. The feeling of guilt was foreign to him as Thor was cast out and denied his birth right. He knew Thor had come to favor the mortal world but it still was not the same. Now they were truly equals but it did not seem as sweet as the fantasy in his mind. "You will regret the day you have denied Thor Odinson and I our birth right." He snarled at the people around him.

A councilman stands upon hearing the threat. "Speak louder trickster, now I can rip the silver tongue from your lips."

Thor took his younger brother by the arm a little harder and shot the man a glare that could freeze even a frost giant in its place. "If you threaten him again, he will not be the only one whose life is endangered!" The threat was anything but idle. "Come Loki, let us leave. The man of iron has a place for us in Midgard." 

A councilwoman stood gleefully to exclaim, "Now look, as the traitor and trickster walk in shame to live with the humans! Excellent punishment, my lord!" Odin had his face in his hands; regretting what he had done to both his sons. They would be immortal now forever. Never to grow old and forced to watch the people around them wither except for themselves.

Thor grinned and waved like it was a parade. "I could think of no better name for myself. Traitor is a fine title for someone who stands up for someone he loves." Thor exited the chambers only to hug Loki tightly to his chest a moment later while the smaller went rigid. "Forgive me, I did not mean to put you through that. I wish there was a way I could have done that without exposing you to the cruelties of our people."

The shorter man pushed himself away with teeth bared. "F-Forgive you? Thor, you either do not know what you have just done or you are completely mad! You…you… stood in there and…." He pointed back to the council room- staring him in the eyes and seething- mind clear for once. "I...." He could not find the words. Thor had just sacrificed everything for him.

Loki breathed out and tried willing the pain in his chest away. "You call me brother even as I destroyed the world around you! What must I do to break the bond that Odin created out of a lie that makes you so loyal to me!" He barked. He shook his fist at Thor and let tears spill without his knowledge.

The thunderer watched him with sad eyes. "You were not completely yourself. I know those feelings you had were yours, yes. But you would not have acted as you did unless pushed to the brink. Our love for each other was not built on a lie, Loki. We were close once...."

The smaller immortal felt the urge to hit something. So he did- punching the stone pillar for once. He was not the type to get physical with something. Normally it was Thor who acted on impulse. Why did Thor have to care so much? Why did he not just let him die like the others? "Why? Why must you continue to care…? If you loved me, why don't you just end me by your own hand?" He whispered despairingly to the larger man; knuckles bloodied.

Thor's brow knitted as he searched for a way to help Loki understand what was going on inside his head. "If you stopped running for just a moment, you might realize that I am also being sincere when I say that you are my brother, my closest companion, my truest friend and I love you above all others." The words froze Loki in his tracks. He moved only to look back at him. Actors could not say those words with as much truth in their eyes as Thor did. Loki did not know what to think now. People you hated were not supposed to love you.

"I wish you would realize that it matters not where you go, I will tear through any obstacle, bribe any jailer, cross any abyss, and lay my life down. To have me, you need only call." Loki turned to him and his eyes narrowed. Had he… really thought Thor was.... One might think he was blessed with the silver tongue but there Thor stood; eyes searching his own. The green-clad god went to Thor and brushed a hand down his arm- not speaking- only to seconds later receive the warm arms around him he had missed. Though no one besides Thor seemed to understand that. 'I wish I had recognized sooner that you loved me enough for both Odin and Laufey….' thought the trickster.

Thor was silent a few moments before at last breaking it. "Let us return to the mortal world together. The man of iron has welcomed us. We will no longer have to be apart."

Loki felt so weak and tired. So many years trying to be strong through torture and hate. It had left him physically and mentally stricken. "Why would the IronMan ask us- especially me- to come into his home? He clearly doesn't remember who I am."

Thor laughed. "No, they all do. Some are not very pleasured by the idea but the man of iron and the patriotic one swore that they would welcome you." He took hold of Loki's abused face from the muzzle; knowing the fanged piece would make those wounds scar. "I wish they had not forced me to put that monstrous thing on you." Thor said softly before taking his hands away and walking Loki over the rainbow bridge. They had rebuilt the gateway and the Gatekeeper saw their approach.

The dark skinned man took a step back from the gate and bowed to let them pass. "Good luck, Prince Thor and Loki of Asgard." Loki turned to look at him and remembered very well he had frozen the man alive once.

The thunder god smiled, however. "Thank you, let us make haste. We have friends waiting."

In what seemed like moments, Loki and Thor stood atop Stark Tower. "Is it strange to be...?" Loki hesitated as they waited for the ones called the Avengers to come and greet them. The word "nervous" refused to leave his throat.

"No Loki, understand that this is a new beginning for us both." He smiled and hoisted him up over his shoulder. "Come! We shall meet the mortals!" Loki tried to protest but honestly… could not muster it.

Is this what he wanted? He was accepted by someone he loved. He did not even have to kill anyone, for Odin's sake. They were equals and he wondered about their past. "Thor, put me down for a moment."

The taller man obeyed and looked at him curiously. "What is it, brother?" There was a few moments of silence as the trickster god looked down at the rooftop between them. His brows furrowed as happier memories drifted through his mind. More loving times where they worshipped each other. That had ended, and yet.

Loki leaned up and kissed him on the lips. "Now I do not regret finding out about my true origins. I am rather Laufey's son and able to love you in every way possible still, than be Odin's son and be condemned to be only your brother and shadow. Do you understand what I am saying?" He thought, 'I want things to be like they were. Before the cube. Before that woman. Before Odin's wrath and our... fallout.'

Thor could not help but be a little surprised. He had wanted to be what they had been before the world had gone crashing down around him. Now they were free from the restraints of brotherhood and there was no obstacles remaining between them. "I do." He finally replied with a nod before leaning in for another kiss. He belatedly realized Loki's lithe form fit perfectly into his even now. Pulling away from the burning kiss, he was slightly out of breath as he continued, "This will be an interesting forever."

Loki swallowed as he felt something akin to... bliss, perhaps? "It certainly will be."

 


	2. Drinking Too Much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent hours wondering about what I was going to continue on this story about! D: Then it came to me. I'm going to make this about Loki's redemption. And it's going to have one hell of a surprise ending. This is going to be multiple chapters so prepare yourself my friends!

Thor turned slightly; just enough to plant a kiss on top of his love's head. "It is time to wake, Loki.…" They had done nothing except sleep the previous night since the Avengers were away and the younger god was just too tired to do much else.

Loki turned away to drag a pillow over his head. "Some of us do not wish to wake at the rising of the sun, dear brother," he murmured irritably. Thor pulled him close and pressed a kiss to what little neck was exposed.

"Alas, the sun beckons us brother. We cannot keep those of us who are wishing to know you better waiting." Loki turned; his dark brows knitted.

"What are you…" He began only to trail off. _'Now I remember, Thor wants me to meet his little Avenger friends….'_ The paler God thought before sighing, "Thor, they will never accept or understand me." He turned back around and tried reaching out for the warmth of the blankets again.

However, the thunderer's tight grip on him remained. "I understand and accept you, so what makes you think that my friends will not?"

Loki frowned and fought the bite of anger that rose from his heart. _'No Thor, you do not understand or accept. You only love, which even I have yet to be able to understand…'_ he mused bitterly.

Thor sighed and nuzzled his ear slightly with his beard. Loki gritted his teeth and allowed his skin to turn blue before rounding on him with angered crimson eyes. "Do you think they will understand and accept this?" he questioned darkly. The patterns in his skin were foreign yet strangely beautiful.

Thor looked over him and did not flinch at the frost giant side of his brother. He cupped one of those rough cheeks and whispered, "I think you are beautiful in blue."

Loki's mouth fell open and the blue faded away into pale skin again. "You…." He was unable to finish and rose from the bed away from Thor. _'How? How could you love me so much to not be as disgusted with me as I am of myself!'_ He nearly screamed the questions in his head when Thor left the bed. Neither had bothered to remove their armor and Loki felt stiffness in his back.

"There is a washing room you can use through the smaller door and clothing in the piece of furniture there. I will be downstairs talking to our friends."

Loki only nodded as his elder brother left. He did not feel imprisoned but he felt like he was being watched. Upon looking around the room he realized it did look like something from Asgard. The one named Stark had clearly been very good at design. Noticing a mirror, the god stared at his reflection. His cheekbones were high and his nose was long. He looked nothing like the frost giants or the Asgardians. _'Who am I?'_ he wondered while resting his head on the mirror. For a moment he thought he saw a face beside his own in the glass and jolted back in surprise. His own startled face back at him and he swallowed. _'Stay away.…'_ He silently willed, _'I won't have my mind taken from me again.'_ Loki failed to notice the crack that formed on the edge of the mirror as he walked away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Loki showered quickly and left his armor to clean itself while he searched for something Midgardian to wear. The god did not like the idea, but there was a saying his mother used to tell him, "When in Midgard, do as the Midgardians do." Finally, he settled on a pair of pants; much like his usual attire but made of a softer material. They fit fairly well and he used the belt from his old wardrobe instead of searching for another. He adorned an emerald green shirt and brown leather coat since his new residence was surprisingly cold. Whomever had set this up for him- most likely Thor- knew his choice of style fairly well. He pulled on his old boots as well. Mortal's footwear was strange and untrustworthy. Peeking his head out of the room, he looked for any sign of his brother.

"Stop that you fool, you are a god. Don't peek around corners like a scared child." He muttered to himself before leaving the doorway.

"You know if you talk to yourself here, people will think you're crazy." The voice startled him and he rounded on it with summoned magic resting eagerly on the fingertips of an outstretched hand. Tony Stark quickly raised his own; one had an apple clasped in it. "Whoa, frosted flakes."

It was a moment before Loki lowered his hand. "I… apologize." He said softly while pulling the coat around him tighter.

"See, you're already making progress." Tony smiled, "Least you aren't trying to throw me out a window again." He walked until he was close enough to clap a hand on his shoulder.

"I got something to show you." Loki raised an eyebrow. He did not appreciate being touched by the man. Tony glanced behind him as he continued down the hall. "Are you coming or what?" The god sighed; not wanting to follow him in the slightest, but Thor had made a point that if he was going to live here he might as well try to get along with the group. This one did seem like the least annoying of them all.

"How am I to know that you don't plan to kill me or some sort of trickery?" He asked quietly as he grudgingly followed. He belatedly realized he was taller than the other as they walked together.

"Seriously? You think I can pull one over on the 'God of Mischief'? I'm flattered." Tony glanced up at him before tossing another apple to him. "Besides, your brother packs a mean punch. He'd kill me-"

Loki sighed and cut him off. "He is not my brother and I doubt he'd harm a friend for me."

The shorter man watched him a moment before waving a hand. "If you would have let me finish: he'd kill me if I tried to kill you and then Cap would kill him for hurting me and so on. Since we've already seen what you can do…" He paused before stopping altogether and Loki slowed as well. "We might as well have you on our side than have you against us."

The god raised his eyebrows _. 'See Loki? Everyone wishes to use you as a tool again.'_ He held the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "What is it you want to show me, Stark? I wish to return to my chambers."

Now it was Tony's turn to raise eyebrows. "You know this isn't your prison, right?" Loki looked down at him with that same brow still aloft. "You can leave here whenever you want. Thor swore up and down that you weren't going to try and kill us again so why bother sticking around all the time?" He started walking away toward a living room and a staircase. Loki followed- slightly against his better judgment- more curious than anything about the man. "Flashing Chestplate mentioned before that you got stabbed by a piece of that glowing blue thingy."

Loki sighed and corrected him, "The Tesserach, yes. My- Thor does not know how to keep quiet about some things."

Tony smirked and headed down the stairs. At the bottom he slipped around a glass wall into a dark lab beyond. "Actually I'm pretty glad he let that slip. You know its powers, right?"

He followed him into the lab; feeling uncomfortable. "No one knows the full extent of its powers." Loki muttered and Tony moved to a large computer screen.

"Yup, and that's why I have to do this." He hit a button on his computer and a picture of the Tesserach appeared.

Immediately, Loki turned away from it. "What is the meaning of this, Stark?" He did not know it was merely an image. Too frightened of what the relic had put into his mind beforehand.

The man shut off the screen. "That. I needed to prove something."

Loki took a deep breath and stood from his crouched position. He was angry, humiliated and wanted to leave the area at once. Even if it was only to get away from the other who he had clearly made a mistake in following. Tony gravitated closer to him and Loki backed up in response.

"You're afraid of the oversized glow stick. What did it put inside your head?" He looked him in the eye and the god briefly wondered if humans were so stupid after all. After a moment of silence, Tony turned on his heel. "How about a drink?"

Loki swallowed in confusion and thought, 'His sanity isn't all there….' Then he nodded. "I think I'll take you up on that."

xXxXxXxXx

Loki eyed the man across the little bar in the lab as he sipped from his glass. They were not as large as those in Asgard but he had never been as much of a drinker as Thor. Stark, on the other hand, could be a match for his brother. "You got stabbed with a piece of it. You ever get it out?"

Loki licked his lips to collect enough moisture to answer him. "No, I've tried to cut it out before but it melted into my body."

Tony nodded, "What about your long pokey thing?"

Loki raised his eyebrows at that _. 'Very human…. Almost boring if I could read him better. He is a drunk with a self-destructive attitude, yes, but he's… different. Not as judgmental as some.'_ He shook his head, "My staff was taken from me when I was captured."

Stark shrugged, "Yep and it was sent here." Loki took another drink and the god could only feel a slight buzz in his mind from it. Apparently, mortals' liquor was stronger to give him this feeling so early on.

"And did you enjoy playing with it?"

Tony grinned, "Yeah, I did you a favor." He got up from where he was draped lazily on the bar and walked- slightly staggering- over to the only empty space in the entire lab. He leaned over to his right and the floor rose with Loki's staff in a holder. The piece of the Tesserach had been removed and replaced with a ball filled with green light. Tony picked it up and showed it to Loki. "It's yours. I just took that piece of the light bulb out of it and replaced it with a green arc reactor. Can do everything it used to except that taking over peoples brains thing." He yawned and tossed it at him carelessly.

Loki still had enough coordination to catch it. It glowed when it met his hand. "How? No mortal could scratch the Tesserach." Loki whispered in awe.

Tony shrugged as he leaned back on a cart of tools. "A little help from Thor and a piece of space available; we were able to fix your staff. I came to the conclusion that it wasn't just the shard inside you making you go crazy and destroy the town. Your staff was controlling you just as much as it was controlling the other people." He yawned again and cracked his neck. "It's yours after all, a lot of people are going to be pissed I gave it back but I don't care." He turned to walk away. "You know the way back to your room."

Loki looked up in bewilderment. "Stark, why?"

The man paused. "I know what it feels like to have people hate you and feel like you aren't worth it. I'm not forgiving you for blowing up my tower and tossing me out a window, but Hell. We've all done a lot of crazy things we regret." He turned to look at the god before continuing. "Like I said, it's better to have you on our side than against us, man." Then Tony exited the lab; leaving him there to ponder what he had said.

Loki looked down at his staff before letting it shimmer away until he had use for it again. 'They only want you to join because you would benefit them.…'

He swallowed the last of his drink and found his way back to the gods' shared room. The other was waiting there- now in human clothing as well. "Evening brother. Have you made well with the others?"

The younger brother sighed. "Not all, but the man of iron as you call him seems to…." He trailed off. Stark did not like him, but he had not claimed to dislike him either. Loki shook his head and layed down on the other side of the bed. "I don't belong here," he whispered. Allowing Thor to see a part of him he was unwilling to show anyone before yesterday.

"You do, Loki." Thor argued as he brushed a piece of dark hair back. "They will come to understand you like I have." Loki sighed again and wished he would believe that himself. "Do you want something to eat?" He offered and Loki shook his head. The drink had kept his stomach full. His time in captivity with the frost giants had forced him to not feel hunger.

"I would rather sleep." He mumbled and Thor nodded.

"Then sleep is what you will have." He turned to hit a button on the lamp that had in large letters: "Push to turn on and off. Do not smash, Thor."

Loki smirked at seeing it. "Stark is intelligent, after all…."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Loki was scared. His real father stood above him; grinning like the monster he was. He had a large sword made of ice and was holding it above Thor. Loki tried to get in his way; yelling out, "No!" Yet he plunged it into Thor's chest anyway. He let out a scream as the frost giant looked down at him. "Remember… no matter where you run… no matter where you hide… I will find you.… And I will teach you the meaning of fear!" He tried to stop the blood coming out of his brother's chest but it consumed him and bathed his world in red. Loki could not stop the voices in his head sounding like all those who had mocked him. "See? Anything you love or that loves you withers. You are not worth it. You are a traitor. You are nothing!"_

Thor tried to shake his brother awake from his nightmare. Loki was drenched in sweat and screaming; fighting someone. The smaller god flailed with eyes tightly closed until Thor wrapped his arms around him. "Loki, you are fine. Wake up!"

Loki's eyes finally opened wide with panic. He looked Thor over with wild need to make sure he was all right. "Odin has cursed me, as Laufey has as well." He gasped out and put his head in the crook between Thor's shoulder and neck before the tears started flowing. Why was this happening to him?!

"No Loki, it was merely a dream.…" The elder whispered while rubbing his brother's back. Out of the corner of Loki's eye, he could see a blue face laughing silently in the mirror across the room.

 


	3. Plotting in Shards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my wonderful readers!  
> I'm back with chapter three~ Sorry it took me so long. I made a little bit more romance since I had a request on it. Still no sex, (Don't worry, last chapter is going to blow your mind into Asgard. :3) but it'll get there. Also there isn't really any warnings except for Fury's mouth and Clint being sort of an asshole. More Thorki and a little Stony if you turn your head to the side and poke yourself a few times. Chapter four will be out soon~
> 
> *Elsklov means 'Lover' in Norwegian.

Neither Loki nor Thor spoke about the dream the next morning. The shorter god looked in the mirror and ignored the sight of his brother dressing behind him. He did not feel like appreciating the nicely tanned body today. Thor glanced at him while putting on a pair of what the mortals called "jeans" and trying to find a shirt that fit him properly without ripping. He stepped behind the younger man and wrapped his arms around his waist to more comfortably rest his chin on a narrow shoulder. "Do not worry, Loki. You have me, even if it isn't as much as you think."

Loki turned in his hold; wondering if he should break away. Eventually, he went into his arms, resting his head on the man's chest. He did not want to be angry and spiteful with him today. "In the dark, I can hear your heartbeat. I tried to find the sound once. Then it stopped and I discovered I was the darkness causing it to stop in the first place. I hated it. Will I become that darkness?" he whispered.

"I have loved you above all others- you have no equal. I will not let you become the darkness, *Elsklov." Thor answered just as quietly. He cupped his brother's chin and tilted his face upwards. Their lips met briefly and Thor smiled. "I will protect you, I swear it. Now, you have not eaten to my knowledge! Let us go down to our friend's dining hall and feast."

Loki sighed. He still felt no hunger even after having no nourishment for some time now. "Fine." He muttered out before Thor pecked his lips again and let go.

Once they were both dressed, Thor practically dragged the other god down to the kitchen where the Avengers were gathered. Steve Rogers was cooking a rather large pile of bacon and working another pan of eggs with his free hand. Bruce Banner was attempting to pry an empty coffee mug from Tony's grip where the other was passed out on the table.

'These are the people who beat me?' Loki could not help but think as he walked in behind Thor. Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton stood from the table; leaving their meals as soon as he entered and walked out without saying a word.

Loki swallowed thickly. 'You expected that. You did take over the one named Barton's mind and force him to try to kill everyone he held dear. Not to mention calling the redhaired woman a mewling quim which mother would have hit you for if she knew....' he mentally berated himself. The image of Frigga beating him with slipper was enough to take his mind off the unease for a moment.

At the sound of footsteps, Steve turned from the stove. "Oh, I didn't know I was cooking for…" He trailed off as he noticed Clint and Natasha leave. "Nevermind, there should be plenty then." Loki glanced down at the "Welcome to America, honey" apron curiously. Thor  merely smiled and clapped the man on the shoulder.

"Not to worry, patriotic one! My brother does not eat like growing mortals." Bruce raised his eyebrows at Thor before taking a step toward Loki and sweeping him into a hug.

Loki panicked immediately. He still remembered the last time the "Hulk" had come near him. He jumped and went rigid much like a cat would. Bruce released him and smiled. "The other guy can be a little mean sometimes." Before walking away and leaving the god utterly bewildered at the show of affection. Thor grinned as he grabbed up a plate full of bacon.

"A hug in this culture is a sign of friendship!" He boomed and Loki nodded. He was still slightly confused and rather scared of the man who could turn into a beast at any given moment. Though Banner did seem surprisingly more pleasant than the others.

'At least I've learned not to call him a beast to his face.…' he thought and nodded. "No lasting damage done.… It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Loki muttered at last while bowing to both Bruce and Steve.

Steve shrugged awkwardly. He was not accustomed to being bowed to. "Nice to meet you too. How would you like your eggs?" Loki glanced at his brother questioningly. Wondering why they were going to eat "eggs", which were normally the offspring of birds in Asgard.

Thor chuckled, "Make them however easiest. Eggs are not found in our previous home." The captain raised his eyebrows at that and nodded. He was curious but too polite to ask about it.

Meanwhile, Bruce had finally succeeded in getting the mug out of Tony's hand and replacing it with a full one. The man instantly woke and took a drink. "Thanks, lab-bro." Tony had one eye on Steve's backside and Loki's brow instantly shot upward. 'So they allow male relationships in this realm….'

Bruce put five plates together and sat them around the table. "Pick a place, folks!" He chirped cheerfully and sat on the left side of Tony. Loki paused before taking the seat next to him and across from his brother. 'This is getting more tense by the moment. I should eat and return to my room before things get worse.' Loki's eyes shifted back and forth among the others. Tony was still waking up to the smell of his coffee. The god guessed that though the alcohol was stronger here the mortals did not have nearly as high a tolerance to it as he did.

"So how'd you sleep, Sassy McFancyPants?" the philanthropist inquired. Bruce almost inhaled the white liquid he was drinking and Loki paused mid-chewing of the substance called "eggs"; not really disliking the taste but unsure of it still. Thor even looked at Tony with his eyebrows furrowed and Steve was using a napkin to hide the grin his mouth was struggling with.

"Quite fine, thank you." He answered stiffly. Lying so as not to give them the satisfaction of knowing about his nightmares. Thor glanced at him but said nothing while shoveling in another handful of bacon with one large bite.

"Chew your food, Thor." Steve reminded softly and Thor chuckled after swallowing.

Loki was suddenly reminded of his brother's "friends" back home and kept his eyes on his food. 'They continue to treat you like you are nothing wherever you go, Loki.' The voice in the back of his head whispered and he could not help but hear it. After that he proceeded to eat in silence.

"Don't mind Tony. He can be a pain sometimes, but he means well," Steve assured. He glanced at the man looking into his coffee cup like it would refill itself if he glared at the inside long enough.

Bruce cut up his eggs slowly as he spoke, "Do you like the new tower?" He wisely chose not to include the addition of, "since you destroyed the last one".

"It's very tall." Loki muttered and almost wanted to slap himself. 'Oh please, was that seriously the best you could muster?'

However, Steve laughed. "Oh gosh, isn't that the truth? Back in my time we never had buildings this tall." He smiled at him reassuringly.

'No wonder he's being cordial. You didn't try to kill him directly.' Loki thought and nodded slightly. He finished his meal and watched what the others did with their dishes. He could learn from watching; unlike Thor who had to learn from trial and error. The older god smiled and took him by the arm. "Come, I will show you the world." Loki doubted Thor could do that but followed anyway; leaving the other three men in the kitchen. They entered the living room Tony had led him through once before and hit a button on the controller lying on the couch.

A blue ball appeared before taking the shape of a miniature man inside a frame. "Yes, Mr. Odinson? How may I be of service?" Loki stared with wide eyes at the tiny hologram.

"Jarvis! I wish you to answer my brother's questions on this planet and whatever else he may have." Thor turned and handed him the controller. "I have to meet with the others and the one named after anger, Fury. This technology of the man of iron will tell you whatever you seek an answer to."

Loki almost protested as Thor walked away. 'See? You knew he'd leave you in someone else's care eventually.…' Instead, the god turned to the hologram of the man, "What are you?"

Jarvis- rather the hologram of him- tilted his head. "I am an artificial intelligence created by Anthony Stark named Edwin Jarvis. I run the internal systems of Mr. Stark's home, lab, office, cars and I am also uploaded into his armor to assist him. I can converse with anyone under Mr. Starks wishes with considerable sophistication and sarcasm depending on who they are. I am at your service."

He smiled slightly at that. "Tell me everything you know about Shield, the Avengers and Norse Mythology."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Who the Hell do you think you are, Stark? Giving a 'galactic' criminal his weapon after we've seen what he's done!" Clint was nose to nose with Tony; his fist tightly clenched in the other's shirt.

Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh get your head stuck in a bird feeder, Robin Hood. I took out the piece of the Tesserach in his staff."

"He's killed hundreds if not thousands of people." Natasha sat with her fingers laced before her face on the other side of the meeting table.

Steve scratched the back of his head. "We've all done things we regret. Clint, please let go of Tony."

Clint swore and let him go- slightly pushing him into Bruce, who caught him. "This is bullshit, we should get rid of him before he gets us all killed." He put both hands on the table to brace himself. Thor chose that moment to walk in.

"Getting rid of whom?" He asked darkly and the room took on a new air of tension.

Steve raised his hands placatingly. "Thor, you know that some of us don't have a quarrel with Loki but…"

"But some of us certainly do," Clint growled with narrowed eyes.

Bruce groaned, "Guys, let's just take a step back here for a moment. Be diplomatic about this!"

Yet in that moment, Fury strolled into the room with Agent Coulson and Agent Hill right behind him. "I want to know who the fuck authorized bringing Loki back from Asgard." He demanded as his one good eye roved around the room.

Stark raised his hand immediately. "That'd be me."

Fury ushered Steve from his position at the front of the room and took his place. "And why in the Hell did you do that, Stark?" Tony did not seem to care the man was yelling at him and his answer was airy.

"Oh, just building a bridge up so no one would from Asgard would try to come back on us."

"No one of Asgard-" Thor began but Bruce waved him off.

"But we Midgardians don't know that, Thor. We don't mean any offense to you or your people." Steve nodded in agreement before they made the god angrier than he already was about "getting rid" of his brother.

"And how will harboring a criminal by Earth's standards build a bridge?!" Fury exclaimed. He was pissed off his agents had not known what Stark was planning until nearly two days after it had already occurred.

Clint snorted, "Please enlighten us."

Tony's eyebrow arched at that. "I really don't like your tone. I just demoted you to Little John." Then he turned back to Fury. "No Asgardian is going to flip and attack us when we have both the sons of Odin with us. Loki isn't nearly that bad once you get to know him."

That had Natasha raising her brows. "You are talking about the man who threw you out a window, right?"

"Yeah, I am. Come on, the guy was messed up with the Tesserach just as much as everyone else was."

Thor nodded in agreement. "My brother was stabbed with the piece of it. He did not have a choice in what he was doing after the frost giants captured him."

Tony gestured eagerly at the god. "Yeah, just last night Loki mentioned he tried to cut the thing out of him!" That set Clint to growling again.

"Last night? What, did you have fucking drinks with him and talk about your failed parental relationships?"

In seconds the situation escalated. Tony grabbed Clint by his shirt front like he had done to him earlier and threw him into a wall. Bruce backed up and started taking deep breaths. Thor was trying to pry the two apart with Steve's assistance. Natasha kept her eyebrows quirked and sat there watching like it was a football game that had finally gotten interesting.

"Enough!" Fury slammed his fist into the table and everyone broke apart. "Loki stays here until we can figure out what to do with him. And you, Barton, are being reassigned to Antarctica. We've had some disturbances like the Tesserach. Everyone else, try not to kill each other!" Fury snapped something at Coulson and Hill and they nodded in unison. "If I hear one more damn thing about any of you doing something insane like bringing Loki back to Earth, I'm going to have my foot so far up your-!"

Coulson interrupted him, "Sir, we have another meeting." The director paused before sighing heavily and leaving the room. Clint shot Tony a glare before following after Fury with Natasha not far behind him.

Steve clapped Tony on the back. "Nice going."

He raised his eyebrows in surprised, "That sarcasm?"

The taller man shook his head. "No, I don't think Loki is a danger to us anymore. You're right. But what Fury mentioned about the Tesserach readings in Antarctica worries me."

Bruce had calmed himself down by that point and nodded. "I'll start hacking into Shield's files to see what's going on." He spared the god in the room a glance. "I'd keep an eye on Loki, Thor. Clint didn't seem too happy about this situation and I wouldn't put it past Natasha to do something either."

The tallest blond gave a nod of his head. "I will keep Loki nearby. He has been affected by these happenings more than we realize."

 

XXXXX

Loki had returned to his bedroom and gotten undressed; tired of the Midgardian's clothing and exhausted from all the information Jarvis had told him. "Things will get more difficult." He muttered while hugging his pillow. Thor was taking a rather long time at the so called "meeting" with the director of Shield. 'They are more than likely discussing me.' He thought and rolled over so he could look at the ceiling. It was a painting of the nine realms and his eyes fell on the small, blue, crystal-shaped island he knew belonged to the frost giants. He rolled again and scooted over to Thor's side to let his scent surround him. "If it weren't for you, Thor, I doubt that I would still be here."

XXXXXXXX

 

 _Loki knew it was a dream. He was watching it all play out. He observed himself grab the_ Tesserach _from its resting place in Asgard and heard his father yell, "Stop!" He continued viewing the scene and swallowed. He wished he could forget it._

_"Am I cursed?"_

_His father answered, "No."_

_The dream Loki set the_ Tesserach _down and asked, "What am I?"_

_Again his father answered, more softly this time, "You are my son."_

_Loki turned slowly to his father; completely blue with his eyes shining red. "What more than that?" He stepped down from the piece as his skin turned its Asgardian color again._

_The dream sped up of sorts until he was standing at the foot of the stairs his father was perched upon. "So I am no more than another stolen relic? Locked up here, until you make use of me?"_

_Odin sighed. "Why do you twist my words?"_

_Loki began crying. "You could have told me what I was from the beginning! Why didn't you?" His voice started to crack from the surge of emotion._

_"You're my son. I only wanted to protect you from the truth."_

_He swallowed; unable to look at his father. "What, because I-I-I'm the monster that parents tell their children about at night?" His father groaned at him._

_Loki grew angry at the man before him and failed to notice the_ god _was sinking to the floor. "It all makes sense now! Why you favored Thor ALL these years! Because no matter how much you claim to love ME, you could NOT have a frost giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!" His father sunk completely to the floor and Loki's voice caught in his throat. His eyes widened. 'Father?' He thought, reaching out to him. "No.… What have I done?" He nearly cried out as he felt his father's hand grow cold. "What have I DONE?" He screamed, "Guards! Guards, please help!"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thor returned to the room to find Loki sitting up in bed with his head in his hands. At first he could not tell what he was doing until his ears picked up the tiny thuds of tears hitting the bedding. He knew instantly something was wrong and went to him. Wrapping the younger god in his embrace and worried for his sanity. "What is it?" he whispered and kissed the top of his head. Loki did not answer him, but did not pull out of the embrace either. 'You have grown weak. The only thing holding you together are your enemy's arms.' Loki finally pushed Thor away from him and picked up the nearest object. He threw it with as much force as he could muster towards the mirror with his father's frost giant face in it.

It shattered into a thousand blue pieces and Thor looked at it in bewilderment. He had not seen the face and never before had Loki displayed such physical rage. "Loki…." He whispered as the other pulled the sheets around to cover himself.

"No, I am fine now." Thor saw how thin his brother was and his brows knitted.

"Where did you go? After you… after you fell into the sea of space?" Thor asked and Loki looked away.

"I floated until I ended up in Jotunheim. The frost giants imprisoned me until I escaped and made a deal with the Chitauri. They gave me my staff with the Tesserach in it and… I agreed to lead them into Earth." Loki did not look back at Thor. Instead saying very softly- almost too low to hear, "I'm sorry."

Thor drew him back into his arms. He hardly cared if he was nude as he kissed him. "Do not. You are with me now."

Loki returned the kiss as he felt the pain vanish and be replaced with Thor. "Why is it only you who chase my nightmares away?"

The older god whispered, "Because I am the thunder who sends the villains scurrying." It was a joke they had shared when they were children and Loki laughed.

"Good, because every darkness needs a light." He leaned against him and Thor dropped back onto the bed; pulling the sheets over them both. Loki was half on top of him and the larger god barely felt his weight. Thor ran his fingers through Loki's silken hair and did not care if the others walked in on them. He kissed him hard enough to make Loki's lips feel bruised.

Loki's emerald green eyes looked into Thor's sapphire blues as he covered Thor's mouth with his own. The other was shocked for a moment and almost pulled away, but then he remembered it was all right now. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the kiss; not accustomed to the love behind it. His left hand wandered up to the back of Loki's head and gently grabbed a fistful of dark locks. His right strayed from the other man's side and interlocked with Loki's left. Everything drifted away then and all he could focus on was Loki's silver tongue in his mouth as the wet muscles massaged each other.

Loki pulled away after what felt like decades later. "Thor…." he whispered and rested his forehead against the other god's. Thor wanted nothing more at that moment than to kiss him again; which did not really surprise him. It was hardly the first time he had wanted to kiss Loki and do other things. They had been like that once- long ago. Loving each other in every way possible. Then Loki had gone on a rampage after discovering the knowledge he was not Odin's son. It had not given them a chance to even discuss their feelings; let alone consider them. Thor had thought he lost Loki when he went into the sea of space and now he was here, on top of him. His lips inches away from the other's.

"The walls are thin." Thor whispered and Loki smirked.

"I don't think… with everything that has come to pass… that we can go to that right away." The elder nodded; knowing he was right.

"I love you." The younger's smirk faded and his hand went to touch the side of Thor's face.

"My love for you… was the only thing that was never a trick. I loved you, and… it will remain that way."

Neither of them noticed the red eyes watching them from the broken glass; plotting.


	4. Twisted Into Knots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back with the forth chapter of this epic tale! I added a major plot twist in this one folks, hold on to your seats.

Thor began to seriously worry about Loki over the next few days. After he had shattered the mirror in their bedroom, Loki had become distant again. He held him and tried to comfort him as much as possible, but it seemed his brother- no, lover- was becoming vacant to him. The others noticed his lack of eating and Thor often woke in the night to find him staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes like someone was whispering to him. Other times he saw him staring sullenly into the bathroom mirror or occasionally whispering. Today he had managed to coax Loki out of their shared room to do some sparring; which Loki had not necessarily agreed to.

"Come now, exercising will do you well!" The taller god smiled as he took him by the shoulder and steered Loki toward the indoor gym. They could already hear the sounds of someone grunting and walked in to see not only Steve working out on a punching bag but Natasha repeatedly causing grown men half her size to be taken down. Loki did not comment and stood watching the woman for a few moments while Thor went to speak with Steve. Back in Asgard, Natasha would have given Lady Sif a fair fight. The redhead narrowed her eyes at him before taking down yet another man.

"Like something you see?" She asked and nailed a bodyguard of Stark's in the groin. Happy went to the ground with a whimper.

Loki almost felt his pain as the man slumped to the floor; eyes slightly bulging from their sockets. "I do not think there is a correct answer that you wish to hear from me."

She nodded, "Good assessment." Loki continued to watch her as only a few men out of those who were lined up decided to try again. They mistook her small stature for weakness and because she was a female they thought she was easy pickings. He had experienced the feeling of others looking down on him for his lithe build and relished beating them down for underestimating him.

"Didn't even get a full workout today…." She muttered while rolling the man out of the ring with one foot. "Anyone else?" The men- seven of them including the two still trying to get up from the floor- backed away slowly with their hands raised. Loki was tempted, very tempted. Natasha turned to him. "What about you? I've never beaten a god in sparring before."

Said God raised his eyebrows. "You haven't? Meaning Thor has not tried to challenge your strength yet?" Thor seemed to gravitate toward his name with Steve right behind him.

"You should try it, brother! I have not dared go against the 'Black Widow' since she is deadly as her title proclaims." Loki smiled; still not taking his eyes away from hers.

Natasha's lips were pursed and Steve chuckled. "It's why I hate Tony sometimes. As Iron Man, he's on our level. He can fly, he can blow things up, and he can take a beating. But at the end of the day, he can climb out of his suit, and he can be like everyone else."

It was Thor's turn to laugh. "I suggest not telling the man of iron that you believe him to be like everyone else. It would cause great offense and possibly a drinking and donut eating binge that Midgard is not prepared for."

Loki decided maybe it would be interesting. The past few days had been stressful and now he could have a little fun. (Not that fun was in the form of violence, of course, for an individual such as himself.) He climbed into the ring with the woman. She immediately took a fighting stance. "You should not have taken me up on my offer." Natasha muttered.

"And leave you to punish Stark's bodyguards?" Loki countered with a sharp, white-toothed grin. "Why not give you a challenge?" She let out a battle cry before leaping at the god. He used her own force against her and let her go flying past him in a swift duck.

She leapt again- like a spider- and Loki let himself fall to the ground before she could hit him. They both rolled and jumped to their feet to begin circling each other. Natasha had her eyes narrowed; so far the god had stayed in the ring precisely nineteen seconds past the others. She charged him. Loki had not thought she was the type of fighter to do such a thing so it caught him off-guard. The woman head-butted him and sent them to the ground once again. Loki could hear Steve and Thor muttering and the pack of men groaning in sympathetic pain.

Loki used her lighter weight against her and tossed her off. She twisted her body in mid-air so she landed on her feet and ran at Loki again before he had a chance to recover. The god could not help but grin. This was one of the most exhilarating spars he had experienced in quite a while. Thor refused to spar with him out of the idiotic fear he would "break" him. Natasha swung her fist and Loki only barely managed to catch it; twisting her arm behind her back. She flung her head backwards into his face and collided with his nose. Then her foot slammed down on his and he shoved her away. They exchanged more blows and got into a tangle so badly once or twice Thor nor Steve could tell which limb belonged to whom.

Natasha attacked him with blind rage. She was still angry at him for what he said to her when he was locked up on the Shield airbase and what he had done to Clint. It felt satisfying for her to be able to punch the living daylights out of him. Every grunt, every groan he exhaled made her happy. Then again, he was doing his own damage. The god almost never had nearly so much fun in spars because everyone was so bent on trying to show how much stronger they were. Natasha used strategy and power; not just mere strength. It impressed him.

Natasha went to punch him in the gut- which would finish him if she aimed in the right place.  Loki caught her wrist mid-swing, grasped her hip and lifted her up. He was planning on tossing her away out of the ring but she wrapped around his arm like a snake and used her legs to choke him. Then bit his hand to add insult to injury. The men once again screamed exaggerated howls of pain. Loki merely smiled and let gravity take effect. He dropped and trapped her beneath his weight long enough for him to gain the upper hand. It was short-lived when she kneed him in the groin. Causing the god to make an inhuman sound of pain before crumbling.

Steve quickly raised his hand. "Hey 'Tasha, I think he's-"

He was cut-off by her kicking Loki in the chest and sending him on his back with a whoosh of air leaving his lungs. Then Natasha was straddling him. The room was silent in the aftermath until he lost it. Loki could not help but laugh and she started chuckling as well before eventually laughing with him.

The surrounding people- plus Tony whom had joined in the crowd of onlookers- thought the two had gone completely insane for a moment. Natasha stood up and offered a hand to him. Loki briefly considered not taking it but deemed it a sign of friendship since none had ever extended him the courtesy in Asgard besides Thor. She pulled him to his feet and shook hands with him. "Natasha Romanoff. That was good match."

The god smiled. "Loki Laufeyson. Indeed you are a warrior of highest standards. It was an honor." He bowed and exited the ring feeling the bruises she had inflicted start to throb. Loki only took a few steps before the computer named Jarvis spoke to the room.

"Avengers, Director Fury has asked you all to assemble in the meeting room. He asks for the presence of the god Loki as well." There was a shared look between all the Avengers in the room that sent Loki's heart racing.

xXx

Loki stood in the back of the conference room between Stark and Thor. Steve was on Thor's other side while Bruce stood between Natasha and Tony. They were in a straight line as Fury paced at the other end of the table. "Barton sent us a message from his base of operation with Agent Coulson in Antarctica. He was investigating the recent readings of forces similar to the Tesserach." Loki's eyebrows shot up. 'So their last meeting wasn't completely about me.... That's almost refreshing.' The dark skinned man stopped pacing and looked at the group in front of him with his one good eye. Loki briefly wondered how he saw everyone but banished the thought since the air was so thick.

"Barton found something. I'd love to find out what it really is." He snapped his fingers and a video appeared on-screen. Clint was present and heavily wrapped up in clothing. His voice was scratchy and the screen cut out every few seconds. "This is Agent Bar-… Reporting from Base-… 112 in Antarctica-… We found something-… Some kind of-… mutation or maybe-… -thing from another world… It looks female… it's trapped beneath… ice of the glacier… We're going to try to transpor-" There was a roar from behind him and he turned. The only clear words in the whole transmission came across, "Oh my god…" Then Barton's voice came over when the video completely faded out, "Coulson-… everyone get-… transports-… hurry!" and human screaming broke in before the transmission cut-off completely.

The room was grave as Fury snapped his fingers and the monitor switched off. "We have no information on whether Agent Coulson, Agent Barton or anyone else sent on that mission are still alive. Judging by their past records there is a high chance they are. I'm going to be putting together a strike team for this rescue operation." His gaze met Loki's. "After much deliberation and the council telling me where I can put my black ass, I personally have decided to offer you a position in the Ave-"

Stark Tower shook violently; sending the Avengers crashing into one another and Fury holding onto the desk for support. "Jarvis, status report on whatever the hell that was!" Tony yelled as he was helped up by Steve.

Jarvis immediately answered, "It seems a plane has crashed into Stark Tower, Sir! There are five passengers and two are identified as Agent Barton and Agent Coulson." Everyone shared a look with each other before scrambling upward.

"Where?" Bruce asked and they rushed out the door of the conference room together. Loki followed, not knowing what else to do.

"The roof, Doctor Banner. I am sending for a medical team from floor twelve up to deal with the wounded." Natasha swallowed and Loki felt something tighten in his chest suddenly. "Sirs and ma'am, there seems to be something of non-human origin that was on the plane. Please proceed with the upmost caution!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The medical team had yet to arrive and the Avengers began pulling the five people out of the wreckage. The plane had crashed its nose into the top of the tower and tittered partially over the edge. Natasha dragged one man who had been forced through the glass of the cockpit to safety. Loki watched his brother and Steve pull two more people out. Even Stark- who was the most rash man on the planet- was diving into the chaos and dragging Agent Coulson out without his suit on. He did not know why he decided to help, but dove into the chaos as well. Bruce started performing CPR on one of the men and Loki swallowed. The god heard Natasha ask, "Where's Barton?" and before he knew what he was doing he was rushing into the open hatch the others had failed to get through. He searched through the smoke to find the last of the men.

"Stop this Loki! You are saving your enemy! An action they clearly would not do for you!" The voice had taken shape into a much darker entity instead of his own voice in the past few days and he had learned to resist it. Loki pressed on until he found the man; a gaping wound in his side that bled on the floor in large drips through his fingers. He looked up at him with eyes clouded with pain. "Damn, if you're the angel taking me to Hell I want a redo."

Loki chuckled. "I apologize; I'm not your angel." He picked him up and hoisted him over his shoulder. "It has never crossed my mind that in all my life I would ever be rescuing a mortal.…" He had to follow the path back through the aircraft; feeling it tilt and groan with his steps until he forced the man through the hatch he had squeezed through at the top of the plane. Thor and Steve pulled Clint up and then Loki. Clint groaned as he was set on the rooftop and Bruce came to his side. Loki wiped away some of the soot that had gotten on him from the hatch and moved to him as well.

"What are you doing?" Bruce asked as Loki held his hand over Barton's wound. The man did not have enough strength in him left to complain since his insides and ribs were in clear view for them all. Natasha went pale as the rest of the medical crew made it onto the roof. Fury was shouting orders and held a soldier's wound to keep pressure on it. Tony did the same with the soldier Bruce had been working on before.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to heal him." Loki snapped while concentrating his sorcerer magic on the wound beneath his hand. A mix of blue and green misted into the injury and Clint let out a cry as the skin regrew.

"Will that even work?" The doctor asked and Loki cast him an incredulous look.

"Well it certainly works on Asgardians. Let us hope it works on mortals as well."

Clint moaned again and his brows furrowed as cuts on his arms and face healed themselves. "Someone gag him before he breaks my concentration." Loki said lowly. His own brows furrowed as he focused on reattaching skin and putting back together the organs that had been torn. Normally his magic was for trickery or dark ideals. He had only learned healing magic because the younger Thor was notorious for getting battle wounds. He was severely out of practice in this form and he had to keep his eyes locked on the injury so hard a vein started to stand out on his head.

Steve looked around widely. "Didn't Jarvis say there was something alien onboard?" Thor moved toward the plane, but at last the weight of the wreckage pulled it over the edge. There was only a large fountain below so there was no danger of it hitting anyone. The soldier and god watched it fall.

"This does not sit well with me." The taller man said to Steve, who nodded understanding.

"Agreed."

After healing Barton's wound to the point he was in no immediate danger Loki stumbled away. The magic he had used had drastically drained him for some reason. It was not normal and he felt something draining him from another source. His voice caught in this throat and he felt his knees give out as he stumbled away from the man. Thor caught him before he hit the roof and laid him down. "Loki?" The younger god tried to keep him in view but his lids slowly slid shut.

XXX

A woman watched them from a rooftop across the city. Her long dark hair blowing in the wind and her emerald green eyes tight on the edges as she grinned. "My little Loki… You've grown so much." She whispered before wrapping herself tightly in her fur cape and walking away to disappear into the air with a blue shimmer. Her voice trailed behind, "We shall meet very soon."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to answer some delightful questions, this unknown woman is not a female Loki. You will just have to figure out who she is in the chapters to come.


	5. Trouble Down Under

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD. You wouldn't believe how much I love this chapter. It's the longest by far but damn if it doesn't make you making inhuman sounds of fear and delight!

Agent Barton had been moved to a hospital bed in Stark Tower's recently built Medical Bay. Apparently, Tony knew the Avengers were going to get themselves injured a lot more in the future. Natasha laid beside him in the large bed. The archer was quiet as he held her close to him; their heads resting against each other. "He did that, didn't he?"

She looked up at him, "Who?" Faking ignorance.

Clint snorted, "You know who. The god. He healed me, didn't he?" She paused before nodding.

"He saved your life. The wreckage went over almost a minute after he pulled you to safety." He laid his head back on his pillows, feeling the new skin on his side stretch with the action.

"As much as I hate to admit it, this makes us even." He murmured and Natasha dropped her head to his shoulder.

"Fury will be here soon to ask what happened."

"I don't remember much. The report will be vague." He replied softly. When his gaze shifted to the open Medical Bay, it seemed as if he saw a different place entirely. "We had only been there for a couple hours when we dug into the ice about two hundred feet- where the signals were coming from. We found something. It couldn't be human, but it was. This woman, she was striking but… strange and I told the men to pull back. I started sending the message back to Shield when something attacked. It was huge and killed almost everyone present. I had Coulson gather as many survivors as he could and we got into one of the transports. We took heavy damage and I think that was when a piece of shrapnel hit me. Coulson and someone else had to pilot and then we crashed into Stark Tower. We could not have gotten here from the arctic in that amount of time, Nat." Barton muttered as his eyebrows furrowed at the conundrum.

"You can't remember anything that happened in that time or...?" Clint shook his head.

"I would have bled out if it was a normal trip. It makes no sense. I remember seeing that woman walking toward me but it just blurs after that. I can't… I couldn't save anyone." He shook his head again and Natasha gently touched the side of his face.

"Don't do that to yourself. Just don't. You saved those three soldiers, Coulson and yourself."

Barton sighed and slumped. "Out of the thirty people we had with us? Whatever you say."

She nodded encouragingly and offered him a small smile. "I'll report what you saw to Fury so you don't have to deal with the pirate." He chuckled at their nickname for their boss.

"Thanks…"

It was Natasha's turn to shake her head. "Not me you should thank."

xXx

Loki woke with a start to Stark kicking his bed. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Merlin." He sat up with his head feeling light on his shoulders and almost fell out of the bed. "Whoa there, don't push yourself." Tony admonished, remembering the countless times both Pepper and Steve had told him that.

The god tried to steady himself. "Did the archer live?" He asked before touching his head lightly. It felt like it was pounding. He had never experienced such a thing before.

"You mean Link? Oh yeah, couple of days bed rest and he'll be ship shape." Tony took a sip from the glass of golden liquid in his hand. The other was outstretched and offering something to Loki. Two round, red tablets.

"What is this?"

Tony smirked knowingly. "What we mortals call aspirin. Trust me, it helps." Loki eyed it warily before taking them and and then looking back to the man for instruction. Stark gave him the "seriously?" face before gesturing toward his mouth.

"Swallow them. They work a lot better that way." The god narrowed his eyes at him and swallowed down the foreign objects; ignoring their vulgar taste.

Next thing he knew, there was a long, plastic-wrapped object thrust into his hands. Tony sat next to him- in Thor's usual spot- and drank as he admired the painting of Asgard. Loki held up the object curiously until the other explained. "It's Shawarma. Pretty damn tasty stuff, surprisingly. Eat some of that with whiskey and aspirin and you won't feel a thing."

Loki returned his gaze to the thing and unwrapped it before wrinkling his nose. "This is… abnormal." Tony laughed.

"If you hadn't noticed, Harry Potter, everything is a little abnormal around here." Loki set the large sandwich off to the side so Thor could eat it like he normally did with food left lying around.

"That is certainly true."

Sometimes he wondered why he loved a man who ate everything in sight and was- by human standards- a man with all muscles and no brains. Yet his thoughts always circled back to, 'It's because he is more than just that.…' The god leaned back on the pillows someone had propped him up against earlier.

"So what happened up there?" Tony asked before taking another sip of his drink. Loki looked at him questioningly; his memory still slightly foggy about the early actions of the day. "You know, rushing to save a guy who clearly hates your guts?"

The god said little as he tried to put his feelings on the matter into words. "I do not know. I felt it was…" He trailed off; unable to describe it.

"You felt it was the right thing to do?" Loki nodded slightly and Tony responded in kind. "Guess that's what it was like the first time I started taking a stand too." The Asgardian looked at him with a raised eyebrow and the other man shrugged. "The first time I got an idea for the Iron Man suit I was in a cave with a man who lost his family. He saved my life and I couldn't save his when it really mattered." He swallowed and let his fingertips stroke the glass in his hand. The god stayed silent. He did not care about the story but he had learned when people opened themselves to others that sometimes it was enough just to listen. If people had done that for him maybe things would have been different. "I decided it was time someone stood up to the bad guys."

"So you fought back?"

Tony nodded again. "Yeah, I didn't try to kill everyone-" He gave a pointed look at Loki. "-but I knew if I didn't, a lot of innocent people were going to die. To be honest I didn't care about them either. People die every day. It just felt… right." He finished with a grin at the other man. "You saved his ass today." Loki shook his head.

"He will not appreciate it; nor do I want his appreciation. I believe I merely made us even."

Tony shrugged again and had no response for him. "Oh well, Thor asked me to tell you, 'Man of Iron, please inform my- erm- brother- that I will not be sharing our chambers tonight and that I will be attending to things elsewhere. Tell him also, Jeg elsker deg'!" Loki smiled at Stark's failed pronunciation of Norwegian for "I love you" but still appreciated his attempt to mimic his brother's voice. Tony turned sideways at him, "Ohhh, I get it now."

The god looked at him in amusement. "What do you understand, now?"

He took on a feral grin. "Nice catch! With you being brothers and all I didn't put two and two together but I see it now. Guess when you're gods and adopted it doesn't really matter." Loki had never been one to blush before but his face drastically heated at Stark's words.

"I- I- I don't understand-" Tony waved his protests away.

"Oh chill out- more than you already are, anyway. I don't care. I wish I could find a certain 'patriotic one' in my chambers sometime but…" He sighed dramatically and made a face while rolling his eyes. "Trying to get that oblivious miracle to understand smacking someone's ass is not a sign of friendship is like trying to tell Thor he looks tiny."

Loki cracked up; unable to keep a straight face any longer. 'He has a sense of hilarity and sarcasm to him….' he thought.

The man winked at him. "I'll be here all night. Actually, no I won't!" He got up from the bed and nearly fell back into it in the process. "I'll be off then, don't let the Sham-wow of food over there go to waste." He waved behind him as he headed for the door. "Night, Loki-dokey."

The god sighed; the smile not leaving his face. "Goodnight, Stark." The man tossed another look over his shoulder at him before leaving. Loki could not comprehend the feeling in his chest. It was strangely warm and felt… good. "It must have been the 'aspirin' that is making me feel this way. I'll have to get more of that from Stark since he seems to have an endless supply."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the middle of the night, she came.

"Loki… darling… Come to me…" 

Loki knew he had heard it somewhere before. He struggled in his sleep; trying to place the warm, silk tone of it. Yet he also tossed in bed not wanting to hear it. The voices in his head had grown worse. He did not want to hear them or any new ones that sprouted from his imagination.

"Come… All will be well…"

Loki swore and rose; opening his eyes. He was standing in a tundra landscape so frozen over he could see nothing but white.

"Oh Loki…"

The voice emanated from a woman standing before him. He backed away and tried to summon his staff but it refused to appear. Her hair layed in soft curls around her head and her eyes bore into him as if she could see his very soul. "What business do you have with me?" Loki asked shakily. The cold did not affect him but he felt he was in danger.

The woman stood her ground and smiled serenely. "By all means, you should not remember me. My name is Ligga and I am your true mother.…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thor ventured into his room to check on Loki. He wondered if Stark was able to pass his message on before getting too drunk to even remember it. He paused upon finding the room empty; the bed unmade. His brow furrowed because Loki was not one to stay out of their chambers long after the sun had gone down nor leave it untidy. The god immediately continued down the hallway to the room Steve inhabited. He walked in unannounced like he always did before speaking to get the soldier's attention. "Patriotic one, have you seen my brother?" Steve jumped and looked up from the book he was reading.

"Uh, no, Thor. What have I said about knocking?" He trailed off at the look on Thor's face. "Have you tried asking Jarvis yet?" He closed the book and swung his legs off the bed.

"No, I have not!" The taller boomed and yelled out loud enough to wake the entire floor. "Jarvis, where is my brother Loki?" After a few moments of silence, Thor looked at Steve questioningly. "That's not normal, Jarvis usually answers us." The two immediately went to Tony's room across the hall to find him passed out on the floor, his liquor glass amazingly un-spilt in his hand.

"Tony?" Steve bent down to check for a pulse when the other abruptly lifted his head up.

"I'm up, I'm up! What?" Thor explained the situation and the smallest man in the room shot up. "Jarvis answers, no matter what." The blonds exchanged looks before following Stark as he ran out of the room.

They finally caught up to him when he stopped to type in the code to enter his lab. Steve was the only one besides Tony that knew the code and he swallowed anxiously; wondering what the Hell had happened since he passed out. "Wake up, daddy's home!" He yelled upon entering and nothing activated like it should have. He picked his way through the lab with more knowledge than the other two and stopped at his computer to type rapid commands before it finally rebooted.

Immediately, Jarvis' voice kicked in. "SIRS, We have an intruder in the-" The English voice was at a panic before it paused. "Running diagnostics, sir. We have a problem, Mr. Stark. Someone uploaded a virus into my system to shut me down and hacked into the vault. The origin is… alien."

The three of them shared a knowing glance. "Which vault did they get into, Jarvis?" Tony asked, hoping and maybe even praying he had been robbed of his fortunes instead of the obvious. The computer sounded grim.

"The vault that held the Tesserach orb taken from Loki's staff, sir."

Steve groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "What happened to Loki, Jarvis? Do you still have the virus?" He asked and the computer took a moment to answer.

"The virus seems to only be temporary somehow. As to the location of the God of Mischief, I do not know. This was his last known sighting." The computer pulled up a recording on Thor's room. Loki was tossing and turning in his bed before the camera flickered and the bed was empty.

"What in the nine realms?" Thor moved closer to watch the replay.

"This happened at the same time the vault was robbed." Jarvis interjected just as Banner walked into the lab.

"Whoa, what's happening? Who's been robbed?"

Tony glanced at him before explaining quickly, "Tesserach has been stolen. Loki is gone." The doctor saw the video replay itself once more.

"Guys, I hate to be the one to bring this up but… can't Loki make copies of himself? Do you think…"

Thor cut him off, "No, my brother no longer has any want to harm this planet." Tony nodded while eying his keyboard angrily.

"I second that. I was with Loki not even thirty minutes before this happened. No way he was making copies and sending them off killing my systems."

Steve bit his lip and rubbed at his eyes. "We should still tell Fury about this. If someone could hack into Stark's system and put a virus in there then we're up against something that I'm not too happy about facing." Thor nodded in agreement.

"I will continue looking for my brother. I may be exiled from Asgard, but that does not mean I am not allowed to leave Midgard."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You are not my mother." Loki countered angrily while summoning his armor. For some reason his staff would not come but at least his protection would.

Ligga smiled with ruby red lips. "I can prove it to you. I am who I say I am. You are my son." She stepped closer to him and he backed away again.

"Stay away. I do not know your origin or what you plan-" Ligga waved a long finger and immediately his mouth shut against his will.

"Quiet…. I am of both Asgard and Midgard. Why do you think you possess the ability to become a frost giant and your earthling form is so different from other Asgardians? Yet you still have magic at your disposal? Listen well, my dear Loki…."

Before he could react she lunged at him and touched the tip of his own spear to his chest. Loki could not move; only feel a rush of what felt like water trickle over his mind. He blinked at her as the new wave of memories flooded through him. She had been kidnapped from Earth. Her life prolonged by love from one of the ancestors of Asgard. She was kidnapped by Laufey and forced into slavery. Just as her life seemed darkest, Laufey took her into his chambers. Loki pushed the spear away. His eyes watered at the emotions and sights passing through his body. "No, my mother was Farbauti.…" He shook his head in an effort to clear it. Deny this.

"She was not. You were taken from my arms moments after you were born. Laufey imprisoned me after. Too busy to do anything else since Odin was attacking his kingdom. After it was over and you were stolen, he froze me in ice and sent it to Midgard so as to never see me again." She held out her arms to him. "Come to me, my son.…"

Loki's eyes widened. "I…." His voice caught in his throat as the voices in his head were silent for once. No one- except himself- was commenting or screaming for him to listen. He looked up at her with wide eyes. "You stopped them…?"

Ligga grinned, showing her teeth. A smile that Loki was almost famous for among the mortals. "Yes, my dear… and I am able to do so much more. The frost giants are coming and we will stand with them to take this world over."

He shook his head. He was far more intelligent than to believe she could just make his voices disappear without having something to do with them in the first place. "I don't believe you. I won't allow you or the frost giants to take this world over." Her smiled faltered instantly and the staff went across his face to create a bloody gash. He winced from the wound as his blood splashed against the snow.

"I tried to be nice, LOKI. I tried to teach you to OBEY! I TRIED to teach you that HE IS YOUR MASTER!" She hit him with each stressed word to the point he could no longer open his left eye. He spat blood and tried using his magic; not knowing who or what the Hell she was talking about. "What? You wish to harm your own mother?" Her eyes were wild and her breath seething. "I have taken your powers. I will use them for better things than you!"

Loki looked up at her and at last felt the fear he had been holding back. He did not know what to do. His limbs were heavy; his weapon and magic gone. Not that he could fight against the woman who was clearly his real blood mother. "I will not… let you… harm this planet.…"

Ligga kicked him in the head so hard he rolled to the point he was looking up at the sky. "Your father is coming." She tossed his staff on his chest and his eyes felt heavy. She walked a few feet away before chanting, "My Lord, Laufey King of the Frost Giants, I come to your side as a servant! Hear me and come to us!" Loki could only watch as she used his magic to bring his father- whom he had killed by his own hand- back from the grave. His magic was never meant to revive the dead and suddenly a blast of black came from a crack that opened in the earth. She continued chanting as the mist of ebony became the shape of a nine foot tall beast.

Loki reached for his staff. If Laufey walked on this planet, the first place he would attack would be the only defense of Earth. His brother and the rest of the Avengers were in grave danger. He swallowed before spitting more blood from his mouth off to the side as the shape became whole and his father's red eyes glared down at him. "Why have you brought me back, she-devil?" Ligga smiled up at him and bowed.

"I have come to offer my services! You wish to take Asgard, yes? You will take the world of the mortals then the Asgardians will fall before you!" Laufey smacked her away from him. She returned to her feet licking her lips and enjoying the taste of her own blood.

"You will not order me. I need no help taking either world. Why have you brought the traitor to me?" He sneered down at Loki before waving his hand.

Loki felt his skin almost peel off and then the sting of his eyes forcefully turning back to their original color. He cried out and grabbed his face as it gave off steam from the sudden temperature change. Laufey chuckled in amusement as Ligga crawled toward him. "My lord, I have a gift." Loki tried to lift himself from his position, but his body hurt and he felt himself being drained. His hand found his staff and gripped it tightly until his knuckles turned white. Ligga made Loki's worst fears a reality when she summoned the Tesserach piece before the giant. The object flew into his hand and Ligga laughed gleefully.

'No…. No…!' Loki thought before lifting himself off the ground and firing a shot of energy with the arc reactor Stark had put his staff. It bounced off the Tesserach before Laufey could test the weapon out on Ligga. Her eyes widened and she ran towards Loki who moved to protect her.

She screamed as her body was turned to a skeleton before Loki's eyes. He called out while she stared at him; reached for him. His fingers brushed hers before she died and Loki felt loss. The woman he had barely known for an hour- yet had seen her entire life- had put a hole in his heart. Her magic hit him in the chest and he felt his magic flow through his veins again. He saw his father raise the piece of Tesserach; turning it into part of a giant sword. Laufey swung at him and Loki fired  off a green blast to stall him. "I will not let you destroy anything else I hold dear!" He screamed and Laufey laughed before catching him with his bare hand. "You have no choice. You are my son. Our goals are what you should hold dear." The giant raised his sword and hundreds of giants appeared behind him.

Loki spat into his face. "I am not your son, or anyone else's. I am Loki of Midgard!" He stabbed the giant with his staff and used his magic to transport himself once released from his grasp. The next thing he knew, he was falling onto a conference table in Stark Tower. Thor was at his side instantly, shocked by the cold his brother gave off. Fury and the other agents had guns trained on him. Steve was shocked into silence as were the rest of the Avengers but went to defend him; raising their own weapons to the agents surrounding them. Loki gasped as he felt warm air enter his lungs and his skin returned back to a normal color. His eyes found Thor and he choked out,

"They are coming!"

 


	6. Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! The story is almost done! :D Soon you will get your long waited Thorki Smut but not yet. Remember, all things good take time. :) I'm working on the next chapter now! This chapter really hit me below the belt in angst so have a box of tissues ready. The next chapter should be the final. (I'm 97% sure on that.)

Thor pounded his fist onto the table so hard it cracked in half. He was just barely keeping his calm with his brother being called a traitor again. Natasha placed a hand on his shoulder in warning. He did not dare speak in fear of what he might say. The rest of the Avengers were not happy either and for once Hawkeye was silent. Even he knew it did not seem right to just leave the god in a cell to riot. Tony was making good points to Fury and Steve was trying with all his might to back him up. Fury's voice rose with the others. "We don't know if he stole the Tesserach or what he could do to us if we let him out of that cell!"

Tony scoffed at him. "And you think he would come back here of all places? Warning us that the frost giants are coming just so we could lock him in a cage?" Fury's eyes were narrowed at him.

"Keep it up Stark and you'll be in there with him!"

Bruce was rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Guys, seriously, arguing about this isn't helping anyone. Especially Loki. We've got to prepare for this attack." Hawkeye nodded in agreement.

"The frost giants are a foe we've never faced before. We're going to need all the fire power we can get." Fury continued scowling before turning toward the window of the conference room.

"Agent Coulson will escort Stark to the holding cell. The rest of you are dismissed." The agent in question looked at him with shock but said nothing before looking at Tony apologetically.

The billionaire shook his head as Steve protested. "Director Fury, please! We need him when it comes down to the battle! We'll need both him and Loki!" The director did not respond and Coulson took Stark by the arm, walking him out the door.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing something really wrong here?" Coulson whispered to Tony as he walked him swiftly toward the holding cells originally designed for the Hulk.

"No, you aren't. Something's up with General Chang in there," he muttered back.

Phil looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "You know how Loki has the power to duplicate right?" Tony nodded.

"Yeah, you think he's got something to do with it?" Coulson shook his head.

"No, I remember looking at Loki when he shot me with that laser thing of the Tesserach back then. His eyes were filmed over with this blue stuff like Barton's were before Natasha beat it out of him. I looked at him when Fury ordered us to take him down there. His whole demeanor is different. He was begging us to get people out of the city.…" He trailed off with his eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm willing to bet my left nut that was a frost giant." Tony murmured before picking up speed toward the holding cells. "We're going need his help if we want to stop this massacre."

XXXXXXX

Loki was dumped into a cell and left there. He was pacing and constantly wondering what in the nine realms he was going to do. The Tesserach was now in the hands of his father. The king of the frost giants whom planned to destroy the entire world. He swallowed and kicked the holding cell's glass wall. The god felt like a tiger locked in a cage. If the Avengers did not start getting people out of the city then something terrible was surely going to happen. He tapped his scarred lips with his fingers; trying to think of any way he could prove himself or perhaps stop the invasion from where he was. "I don't even know why I want to save these people. They've imprisoned me again, for Odin's sake. Though not even I cannot admit that some of these mortals have grown on me…. Not to mention they are dearly important to Thor.… Thor…." He tried not to think about the man.

The moment he had returned to Stark tower, the Shield agents had tried to kill him. Thor and the rest of the Avengers had immediately gone to his aid, surprisingly. Yet not even his brother could stop the director of Shield from ordering his arrest. He continued pacing. If it had not been for Black Widow whispering something in his ear and Loki's soft protest Thor would have killed the soldiers who took him away. Loki kneeled down as his legs began to ache. There was a sound from the room outside the cage and he looked up to see Stark and the agent he had nearly taken the life of almost a month ago. "Stark?"

The man grinned at him. "Hope you weren't getting too comfortable." The god could not help but smile back.

"I'll be sorry to see it go. I might make it a summer home." Coulson stood to the side awkwardly and tried not to make eye contact with Loki. Tony typed in several commands in the keypad beside the glass cell and the door slid open. "What is the meaning of this sudden jail break?" he asked the shorter man and was met with a grim look.

"You remember baldy with the eye patch?" Loki nodded. "We're pretty sure he's a frost giant."

Coulson interjected, "Is there any way we can check first before we start trying to kill the director of Shield?"

Loki held his chin for a moment. "There is a way. Have you made any preparations to get the mortals out of the city?" Phil shook his head.

"Fury won't let us. He cut all communications to the outside world. Soon as we take care of this problem we'll deal with that next." Loki sighed and took a pace now that had the other two jogging to keep up with him.

"Let's go. It won't be long before they know I'm free if it is a frost giant in disguise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Fury in the conference room turned slowly as Loki stepped through the door. He pulled a gun but before he could reach the trigger the god had his staff to his neck. "I will only ask once. Are you of the frost giants or the true director of Shield?" Loki kept his voice low as the rest of the Avengers slid into the room behind Tony and Phil. They had spotted the two running past them back down the hall moments ago and decided to tag along. The other man smiled before doing a backflip out the window of the conference room; glass shattering. Tony whistled lowly in the background and Loki's eyebrows were almost up into his hairline. "I do believe that answers that question."

Coulson slid out his phone and dialed the Shield airbase to try and get some support for the coming fight. In the process, he discovered the director was actually on another assignment all the way across the world. Thor approached Loki and hugged him from the side. "I always believed in you."

The god leaned into his embrace; briefly looking over the edge at the now dead body of the frost giant far below. "As I believe someone else would say at this time…" Loki turned to the Avengers behind him, "It seems we should 'suit up'?"

Steve grinned and nodded. "You heard him, folks. We need to get ready. Company is coming."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Loki stared at the helmet in his hands. Its gold sheen was not as bright in Midgard. He stood alone in the corridor that connected the Avengers "locker room" to an elevator leading to the roof. Thor came up behind him and put a soft hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"

The smaller god glanced up at him. "Not long ago I found myself fighting against you all to take this planet for myself. Now I stand here defending it by your side."

Thor frowned. "Do you… regret it?" Loki looked up at him.

"No. But I regret that we have to fight this battle at all." Loki leaned up to kiss him on the lips. "I have a feeling that this… will not end well for us today." Thor worked his mouth trying to form words; confused and suddenly frightened.

He finally set on the sentence, "Then we will make it end well."

Loki smiled softly. "Indeed. I have a plan. It may not work but I sense we will not have any other choice." Thor bent and gave him a much longer, more loving kiss than the one before.

"Just in case things do not go as well as we hope." He muttered before pulling away and Loki swallowed hard. He put on his helmet and had just taken his staff in hand when Bruce suddenly appeared around the corner of the hallway.

"Guys, we've got trouble."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The Avengers stood  together on the roof overlooking New York with worried faces. Blue giants- appearing more like ants from their level- were marching through the streets toward Stark Tower. Loki and Thor, along with Bruce, exited the elevator to join the rest and get a good look for themselves. Thor cursed in Norwegian and Loki could not help but repeat the word in his head. There were five streets leading to Stark Tower and each was filled with giants. Thankfully, their size depended largely upon the weather. Here, they were only seven feet tall due to the warm climate. However, they were still vastly outnumbered.

Bruce handed Loki a small device. "This is a communicator. Put it in your ear and we can hear each other. We can hear what you say too so if you need help, just give the word. All of us have one but me, of course." He smiled and patted him on the shoulder. Loki eyed the pants he was wearing. They were rather large and dragged on the ground behind him. Tony grinned.

"Hopefully those are stretchy enough, bro." He chuckled in his suit's helmet and Bruce nodded good-naturedly.

"Wouldn't want to flash any old ladies out there, would we?"

"You're the expert on them, Loki. Have any ideas?" Captain America asked hopefully while watching one street ahead of them.

The god cleared his throat. "They are not after the people of your city. But I can remove them from the area with my magic and transport them elsewhere."

Steve nodded. "If you can get them out of the way then you might as well do that while we still have the chance." Loki turned his gaze out toward the city and raised his hand. Tony would have called it melodramatic if he was not in awe as a green flash traveled out from the tower.

"They have been transported to areas around the city. I believe I have cleared ten 'blocks'- as you mortals call them."

Bruce looked at him with a half-smile. "He's cool." He threw in some pointing for good measure so everyone knew exactly whom he was talking about and Natasha tried to hide a grin. Hawkeye snorted; almost jealous.

"If I may suggest, it is probably better to battle them on the ground." Loki muttered and Hawkeye came up beside them.

"Say Nat and I take street on the far left. Loki takes far right, Thor takes the immediate right, Hulk down the center and Stark and Cap take the immediate left. We can clear the streets that way since they don't look like they have too many big guys." Captain America nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a plan. Good luck!" Tony grabbed Steve by his belt and Hawkeye's quiver before lifting them toward their designated streets.

Natasha looked to Bruce. "Can I hitch a ride?" The man nodded and in seconds became the Hulk. She jumped onto his massive back and he leaped off the roof into the city streets below. Thor beamed at his lover.

"I will see you at the victory feast, brother!" Then swung his hammer to shoot below as well. Loki did not have the power of flight and merely stepped off the edge. Slowing himself down right before he hit the ground was easy and soon he was alighting onto the street he had been asked to defend.

"Good afternoon." He greeted calmly as nearly a hundred frost giants came at him roaring.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They had been fighting for almost seven hours. Natasha and Steve had taken a number of wounds. The only ones who seemed able to keep fighting were the Hulk and Hawkeye. Stark was trying to draw those remaining as far as possible from the rest of the city. The Tesserach piece was allowing them to make the entire block Loki had cleared into a wasteland of ice. Still, they continued to fight. Any help from Shield had immediately been taken out and Captain America had ordered them to stop sending reinforcements. Coulson was organizing medical teams in the tower for the injured and was manning a gun on the rooftop with Jarvis' help in the case of a giant drawing too near.

Loki had long lost his helmet in the fray; knocked off by a blow he had taken. Blood flowed freely from deep wounds in any place his armor failed to guard. Even under the folds of leather and metal he had bruises. They had all fallen back to the tower to fight side by side instead of separately. Suddenly, a building started to collapse near Thor. The younger god knew his brother would remain clear of it, but then a frost giant scored a hit that made the thunder god lose consciousness. Loki quickly made a copy of himself to keep his share of frost giants busy while he ran to his fallen lover.

The building was falling and he wasted no time in hefting Thor over his shoulder. For a moment he felt a rush of pride at carrying a man with such a larger build on strength alone. Loki spotted Thor's hammer and picked it up as an afterthought. He was surprised a moment at its impossibly light weight but focused on escaping the falling debris. The god picked up the pace and managed to get out of the way but was almost swept off his feet by the dust it produced. "Stark! I need you to take Thor to a safer location!" He coughed into the earpiece.

The man answered almost instantly, "On my way. He hurt?"

Loki glanced at Thor before needing to duck a large blast of energy shot from somewhere else. "I don't know! Just get him out of here!"

Stark came flying down and took Thor from Loki. The god wasted no time in firing off a deflecting spell at a follow-up blast with his staff. It superheated the weapon to the point it left a burn on Loki's hand but he did not drop it for fear of what would happen if he did. Stepping out of the dust from the building was none other than the king himself. He smiled at Loki before shooting at him a third time. Loki could hear Steve's voice over the communicator in his ear. "Everyone fall back! There are too many! Fall back-!"

Before he cut-off and someone was yelling, "Captain Rogers?! Captain America is down! Everyone fall back to Stark Tower!"

Loki looked away from his battle only momentarily to take stock of what had happened. Hawkeye was carrying a defeated Natasha away from the battlefield. Hulk was beating frost giants with other frost giants. Captain America lay still on the ground and Stark was in the middle of speeding toward him when he was shot in the side. The force sent the man of iron crashing into the ground. 'They will all die if this battle is not ended soon….' he thought. His mind flashed to Thor and with pain in his chest he wondered if his brother was still alive. Loki returned his attention to the frost giants lumbering his way and dodged another bolt of blue energy from his father. He rolled and left his mind to go rampant while his body moved. 'There must be a way to stop them.… Odin had always said that the moment he took the Tesserach away the frost giants gave up…. This couldn't be that different, could it?' he wondered.

Loki swallowed nervously and admitted to himself he was scared. He spotted Thor's discarded hammer and drew a deep breath. It was right in front of a frost giant who was fighting with the Hulk. In a mad dash, he vaulted over rubble and the bodies of felled frost giants toward the weapon. He was not entirely certain of his plan yet, but he prayed to Odin and whomever else was listening it would work regardless. It was said only the truly worthy could yield it. In the past, he had been unable to do so. This could easily go badly. A giant reached out and grabbed his leg; successfully interrupting his thoughts and making him drop to the ground only a few inches from the hammer. He kicked out uselessly as the remaining frost giants came closer and finally succeeded in overwhelming the Hulk. Loki's fingertips brushed against the bottom of the hammer and he kicked out at the face of the frost giant holding him yet again. At last, he let go as the god's boot heel dug into his eye this time. Loki was able to securely grasp and raise the weapon as Laufey swung down his sword with the Tesserach piece inside it.

The two relics met and caused a blast of energy so powerful it knocked the surrounding army off its feet. It disintegrated most of the frost giants and left holes in the tower. Loki barely heard Stark mutter something akin to, "Damn it, I just fixed that!" He pulled himself up into a kneeling position to see the remaining of the army doing the same. The Tesserach had been shattered to pieces but his father still remained. The ice was receding and the king let loose a terrible roar to summon more giants to his aid. Loki spat blood off to the side as he felt his body start to give out. Meanwhile, Laufey stood at his full height and snarled at him.

Loki raised the hammer again but the frost giant hit him before he could swing it. It knocked him into a pile of rubble and sent blood flying from his mouth. The god felt his insides burn and he coughed; unable to get breath. "Someone get down there to help him before he gets his head taken off!" Somebody yelled but Loki's vision was blurring and he fell to the side cradling his chest. "Hulk, Widow, Captain, and Thor are down! Stark, are you close?!"

"I've got to stop this.… My magic brought him back from the grave I had made for him.… Ligga resurrected him with what she stole and transferred it to me when he murdered her.… If I… cut-off the magic… he'll have nothing to keep himself on this planet… or to the living realm.…" Loki reached out for his staff- now broken- and Laufey released a barking laugh.

"You are indeed a prince of the frost giants and true king of Asgard. You do not give up and you are a fool." The green-eyed god smiled at that. Somehow, even with all the blood dripping from his mouth his teeth remained tauntingly white. His hand finally found his staff and he laughed.

"I'm sorry to inform you.…" He gasped for breath as he stood. "But you have been Loki'd." He stated before plunging the staff deep into his own chest. He choked as he felt it pierce through his heart. Loki's eyes shut and he could just hear Stark, "Not… Not close enough…." The King immediately knew what was happening as a light spread out and enveloped the army around him. Loki sent his magic pouring out of the wound and destroyed most- if not all- of the army Laufey had with him. The sheer force of it shattered the windows of the remaining buildings and when the light faded, New York was epically silent.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thor chose that moment to wake. He felt the shudder of the tower and Stark had to land so he would not be taken down by the blast. Thor did not bother slowing as he found his way to the body lying alone in the rubble. Loki was still alive as the rest of the Avengers crowded around. His face had become deathly pale as he blinked up at the sky. Thor let the tears roll down his face. His thumb swiped across Loki's cheek to rid it of a speck of blood. "Loki.…" He whispered while pulling him into his arms.

The smaller god chuckled. "How worthy am I… to allow tears of a thunder god… to be shed over me.…" He gasped out; fingers limp around the handle of Thor's hammer.

The thunderer could not bear the pain in his chest as he kissed the top of Loki's head and rocked them back and forth. other Avengers had their voices stuck in their throat. Stark purposefully kept his faceplate down and even Hulk was silent. Any of the army that remained had immediately run back to their homes or committed suicide out of fear. A soft cry of anguish erupted from Thor's throat. Loki coughed as he tried to continue. "I suppose… I was worthy… in the… end…. I... love... y-you...." He tilted his head back to look up at the sky fully. "I've never seen a sky this blue in all of the nine realms… maybe this is why Asgard tried to keep it safe for so long.… Midgard was… special.…" His eyes darkened completely and Thor released a heart-wrenching sob.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A servant came running into Odin's throne room where he was quietly speaking with his wife. She was small but very determined and she bowed as soon as the king caught sight of her. "Yes, my child?" He questioned and she licked her lips.

"All-Father, I have urgent news. Prince Thor is coming back to Asgard. He demands your presence in the council chambers!"

His face grew red at first but his wife set a worried hand on his shoulder and managed to silence him for a moment. "Why has he returned?" She asked of the servant girl whom bowed to her as well.

"He says that it is about the death of the prince." Frigga put a hand to her mouth and looked to Odin.

Minutes later, they approached the council chambers. The other members of the council looked down into the room with grim faces as Odin burst through the door with his wife right behind him. "Leave us! This is a matter for kin only!" Odin roared and the other occupants of the room scattered away. Thor sat in the middle of the room. There were tears in his eyes and Loki was in his arms.

Frigga immediately hugged Thor around the neck before bending down to touch the younger god's face. "Oh…. Oh.…" She wailed and Odin appeared stricken. "How did this…"

"Frost giants attacked Midgard. They were led by Laufey. They planned to take that world before coming here. The humans, Loki and I fought against him. He… sacrificed himself for us.…" Thor choked on the last few worlds and laid his head against Loki's to weep freely. "Father, I know you can grant life… please.…" Odin's son pleaded.

Odin himself felt a wetness gathering in his eyes. No matter how angry he was with him… Loki was his son. "I cannot grant life that has been taken…. Go to the top of Yggdrasil; the tallest tree. You will meet a spirit there who will decide his fate." Odin put a hand on his shoulder. "Save your sorrow until then. Hurry."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thor trekked to the top of Yggdrasil. According to legend, the tree was the oldest ancestor of the gods and also the giver of life. At the peak was a shadowed opening. He entered without hesitation and it led into a completely white chamber. An angel- or perhaps demon- sat in the middle of the circular room. One of its wings was black and chained to the floor while the other, white wing flapped calmly and freely. The spirit had no face. Only one eye that watched him with curiosity. "You are Thor, son of Odin."

The thunder god set Loki down and kneeled. "I am, great spirit."

The voice was neither male nor female and it had a soft, scratchy tone to it. The creature had no legs. Only arms and hands that seemed to be growing from the tree itself. It had both male and female genitals. "You wish me to grant Loki, God of Mischief, his soul back and thus his life…." It stated softly and without question.

Thor feared the being but looked upon the creature again. "Yes." The being's neck expanded until its eye was mere inches from Thor's face. The bones in its neck made sickening sounds all the while.

"Why should I do this for a traitor of Asgard and many of my children?" Thor swallowed nervously.

"He is no longer a traitor. Loki sacri-"

It hissed, "The God of Mischief has sacrificed his life for you and those of Midgard. But what are you willing to sacrifice for him, I wonder?" The head snapped back to its original position with another crunch. Thor fought the urge to either hurl or kill the monstrosity in front of him. Yggdrasil suddenly had a mouth and it smiled with rows of sharp teeth. "Tell me…."

The god swallowed before whispering his reply as his hand brushed a lock of silk hair from Loki's face. "I am willing to give anything."

The spirit laughed. "A life for a life does not seem fair. So I will do this." It growled and made noises with its throat until an arm rose from its mouth and snapped two of its four fingers. Thor closed his eyes; nauseated by the sight. "I will give your brother his life, in exchange for… a favor." The god nodded solemnly.

 


	7. Redemption of the Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I know it's been a while. Sorry about that folks, I've been in the middle of a move across the country. This is the final chapter of Redemption and I'm so glad everyone stuck with me. It's been wonderful writing this and I believe that this is one of my best fanfictions I've ever had the pleasure of writing. All warnings are in place here, mainly because Thor and Loki finally go have some fun time in their bedroom. This chapter takes place eight weeks from when Loki 'died' and was brought back. 83
> 
> Thanks again!

-Recap-

The city had been rebuilt by Stark's seemingly endless funds and people had been returned to their homes. Fury captured the remaining frost giants in hiding and got as much information as he could out of them. Loki was brought back to Midgard after he had healed and been reinstated as a prince of Asgard alongside Thor. The elder god never told Loki what the "favor" was to the spirit but he did not find it in his place to ask after what his brother had done for him. The two returned to a warm welcome party and Loki was officially made one of the Avengers by Director Fury. Hawkeye allowed himself to shake hands with the man; saying what he did would not make everything between them smoothed over, but they could work the rest out. Natasha still treated him the same. Their now regular sparring was the only time both could let loose and not be afraid of killing anyone. Tony and Steve finally got over the sexual tension between each other and were working out the kinks in their new relationship. Bruce started a very open and calm relationship with Pepper Potts. Agent Coulson had been assigned as the Avengers' personal handler and Agent Hill returned to command in the newly rebuilt helipad Shield base. At last, all was well with the Avengers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Eight Weeks Later**

Loki groaned as Natasha threw him to the floor once again. She grinned down at him. "Best twenty-one out of twenty-three?" Her hands were on his hips and the other Shield agents around them either had their faces contorted with pain or were making groaning noises. They had all started taking bets on who would win and Natasha normally did if Loki did not fight dirty. Even when he tried to, Natasha would normally shout, "prison rules" and Loki would be in the kitchen later that evening with an icepack on his privates.

"I think I'm done for today," he wheezed and pulled himself up by Natasha's offered hand. "Good spar, Romanoff."

She smiled and shook her head. "Don't hurt yourself, old man."

The god left the ring with a small grin. He accepted a towel from one of the agents whom had bet on Natasha. He muttered his thanks and continued toward his room as Natasha took yet another sparring partner. There was a yell of pain and Loki shook his head in amusement. He was still grinning as he walked by the dark living room. Stark was watching television with Steve resting his head in his lap; deep into one of the many books he owned. "Need more light, Captain?" Tony asked and the blue glow of the arc reactor brightened a little. Loki continued on past the open archway and heard a crash near the kitchen. He peeked in to see Bruce and Clint snorting with laugher and the entire room covered in cake batter.

Bruce waved at him in greeting while still trying to keep his laugher in check and Loki returned it before exiting again. He made his way into the next hall which housed the room he shared with Thor. The thunder god had not been around much since they had been restored to princehood. Apparently, the frost giants still had not given up their plan to take over Midgard even though most of them were either dead or imprisoned on Earth. He stepped through the door to find him cleaning his armor; the hammer sitting beside the bed in its resting place. "Hello, Loki." Thor smiled as he entered and Loki shut the door behind him. "Did you enjoy your wrestle with Natasha?"

Thor had gotten over calling Natasha the "Blackened Spider" and Tony the "Man of Iron" but had not stopped calling Hawkeye the "Birdman" yet. Loki returned the smile and nodded. "She's a formidable opponent." He stepped closer to get a look at what his brother was doing. One of his vambraces lay in his hand as he stroked a cloth over the piece to get the dried mud and dust off of it. "Seems like we both let our armor lose its luster since we have been so occupied." He sat on the end of the bed where the full set was lain out and picked up the other vambrace to examine the pattern. It took Loki a moment before realizing he was looking at his own armor; what he had worn before he was exiled from Asgard.

Loki grabbed a spare cloth and rubbed the dirt off of it to make sure. "Thor.…" He whispered and his brother looked up at him. He had actually taken the time to pull his hair into a ponytail to keep it out of his face while he worked.

"What is- oh." Thor's face fell as he realized what Loki had noticed.

"You… thought that? Even back then?" His voice was very soft as he remembered what had occurred leading up to it. He had almost killed Thor yet still his brother was performing this honorific gesture. The symbol of Loki's horns was engraved into the thunder god's armor. Asgardians rarely did this; it was a sign to commemorate a fallen comrade, kin, or a lover.

"Always, Loki." Thor answered quietly as he tried to gauge his reaction to what he had found.

Loki cleared his throat and continued cleaning it in silence until a thought occurred to him. "I would have guessed that Odin ordered anything of mine to be destroyed." He muttered and the older god shook his head.

"At first, he did. After some persuading Father came to his senses." Loki set down the piece as he finished with it.

The god picked his way over the armor to be closer to Thor. "Thank you…." He murmured and put as much meaning into his voice as he could. His green eyes searched the blue in front of him; wondering if his brother understood what he was trying to say. "Thank you for being there. For believing I wasn't all evil. For loving me unconditionally. For sacrificing everything for me. For being you."

Thor raised a hand to Loki's face and ran a calloused thumb over his cheek. "Never doubt that I love you." He whispered; remembering what Loki had once said to him. Loki smirked as he made a decision then and there.

"I do what I want, Thor… and I want you…."

"The walls are thin…." Thor warned even as a slight smile bloomed across his face. He did not care what the others thought but he wanted to make sure Loki knew what he was getting himself into.

"Let them hear." He whispered before connecting their lips in a fiery kiss that even Hell would find too hot. Thor pushed his armor off the bed in a hurry; not caring that it thumped onto the carpet and whomever was on the floor below would have surely heard it.

"Let them hear…." The thunder god repeated between kisses and shifted back to recline with Loki between his legs. He would never get over how well the other man molded to him. Loki noticed as well and thought back to the puzzles they used to try. Thor would always give up and watch Loki instead, who could not let a job go unfinished.

"We're like puzzle pieces…. We fit."

"Let's go farther than kissing tonight," Loki groaned as he stroked his partner's large shaft through his pants and thought of how good it was going to feel inside of him. Yes, he had experienced male and female partners before but none seemed to hold as high regard as Thor did in his eyes.

"Agreed," Thor answered plainly. Before the younger could try and counter that he kissed him again and thrust his tongue aggressively between his parted lips. The moan of desire Loki made against his mouth was something amazing all on its own. Thor dragged his hands down and started working at getting his lover's pants undone. Loki drew back again to take his own shirt off. He wanted to do something more than just sit there.

Loki's pants and shirt were soon on the floor along with Thor's flannel pull-over. Their kisses were getting more sloppy and fast as they began heating up the room. The smaller man's hand ran down smooth pectorals and laid one finger on the blond treasure trail before sliding all the way down to snap open the button of those pants. Neither Asgardian had ever found the need to wear underwear before and had not bothered changing routine for their stay in Midgard. "I see you do not own only one hammer." Loki complimented with a sly grin as he pulled open the pants to see Thor's cock. His eyes nearly ravaged the other's muscular, tanned body. Thor's were likewise caressing the younger's body as he stretched out beneath him.

Suddenly, he switched their positions and Loki was underneath him. He smirked as the other looked around in confusion for a moment. "You aren't the only tricky one." The thunderer smiled and leaned in for yet another kiss. "It will hurt, since it's the first time." Thor pointed out in concern after breaking the kiss.

Loki quickly shook his head. "I've dealt with far worse pain without the promise of pleasure afterward. Get on with it." He winked and smirked as Thor agreed. The other ordered him to spread his legs and when the smaller man complied he removed his pants completely. He scooted up far enough so he was sitting between them. Reaching down, he curled one hand around his lover's hardened cock. Loki groaned softly and lifted into the touch. His hands gripped at the sheets as the elder stroked him. While they did this he used the precum of his own cock to moisten his fingers and stretched Loki's entrance gently with his spare hand.

The blond man started out gentle. He wanted to gradually work his brother into a frenzy of pleasure. He stared down at the pink-capped organ as he moved; squeezing his hand up and down the length of it. A drop of precum formed on the tip and he impulsively bent over to lick it off with his tongue which made Loki gasp his name. "Thor…." Encouraged by the reaction but not entirely sure of himself, he could not resist sucking the straining cock into his mouth. Loki's breathy whimper made him groan and he tongued the slit in the cap while massaging his balls with gentle pressure. He forced himself to take his time with it and braced his hip with one hand to keep him still. The younger was panting softly and whining with need by the time Thor was ready to move on.

"Thor… please," Loki moaned his Thor let go of his cock. He was getting far too aroused and wanted him right now.

"Shush…." Thor muttered softly. The younger let out a low growl that made the other man's eyebrows shoot upward.

"Fuck me." He ordered after leaning up to grab Thor by the hair and bite his lips softly. Loki did not want to hurt him. Just get the point across that he wanted to be taken immediately. Thor inhaled sharply as his partner's dirty talk came close to undoing him; his own groin aching already.

"Lick my hand." He requested and Loki took one of said appendages to lick it slowly. His tongue soon pulled the first two fingers into his mouth so he could suck on them and the prince let out a moan as his tongue wet the palm.

If Thor had not learned to control his urges then merely watching the younger do that to his fingers would have made him cum. Eventually, Loki released the hand and let Thor wet his cock with it. The precum mixed with it and made it a viable lube for their next activity. "Are you ready?" Thor whispered as Loki relaxed back onto the bed with heavily-lidded green eyes and gasping breaths.

"Do it."

Thor's only response was to position himself at Loki's tight entrance and rock forward. The action stole the man's breath and made his eyes go wide. "Mother of-!" Loki panted brokenly as the cock- larger than many- slowly drove into him. "Freyja, you're big!" He hissed as the girth pressed hard against his prostate and made him gasp. Thor paused to plant soothing kisses across his collarbone. "Don't s-stop!" He gasped out and the larger man continued. Loki easily got off on the mixture of pain and pleassure. He was trying to relax. Even though he had been stretched it was still fairly hard to take him in all at once. Thor stopped and to let the other adjust. Then, he withdrew slightly and pumped in again to drive himself deeper. Thor closed his eyes and tried keeping control in the tight heat. Loki cried out when he thrusted again and finally fully penetrated him.

Loki moaned like a whore as he held there for a moment. He could actually feel it pulsing inside of him. Thor continued to wait until Loki stopped clenching around him so hard. Then he started out slowly; not wanting to hurt the man any more than he had to. Loki was groaning and panting roughly. He called out Thor's name pleadingly as the blond gradually increased the force and speed of his strokes. The younger's face was already getting flushed with passion that gave him more color than he usually had and his eager moans stroked Thor's ego as well as his desire. He started driving his cock in with sharp, hard thrusts.

Loki was crying out, "Harder!" and clutching his pillow. He rocked against his partner as much as Thor's grip on his hips allowed and felt powerful jolts of sensation each time his dick shoved into his body. He whimpered as the pressure grew and rapidly exploded; not even having enough breath to shout he was coming as he spurted his seed all over the sheets. He trembled in the aftermath and tried to catch his breath, but Thor's hard thrusts made him groan and holler with every breath he drew. The elder stopped clutching his partner's hips and stroked his belly instead. He gasped praises to him as he felt Loki's body clench and quiver around his cock.

Thor felt his orgasm approaching and he groaned the smaller man's name while shifting to slower, deeper strokes. Loki panted encouragement to him as if he sensed he was getting close and Thor bowed over his brother to groan raggedly as he unloaded inside of him. He shoved in as far as he could go  and held it there while his cock twitched and spilled. When it finished he pulled out of Loki and collapsed on his side so he would not accidentally crush the other god. They caught their breath and Loki crawled up to rest his head on his lover's chest.

"The entire tower heard that," Loki sighed as he kissed his partner's neck and caught his breath completely.

Thor was also breathing heavily and the bigger man's hands stroked Loki's back and ass with a leisurely sensuality. "Then they will know that the Mjolnir is not my only powerful hammer," he answered huskily with a cocky smile on his face. Loki laughed.

"I've always been known to be rather… horny." Thor looked down and met Loki's gaze before both of them started laughing uncontrollably. They laid together for hours; talking about anything that came to mind. After a period of silence, Loki whispered in the darkness, "I wonder…" Thor hummed curiously. "We never age, technically. We're young by god standards…. We could do this for a very long time…. Maybe even forever." Loki muttered and Thor turned so they were facing each other.

"Indeed, this will be an interesting forever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes. It is finally over. Thanks again for sticking with me. 
> 
> I left the question of what Thor sacrificed up to the reader for a reason to make you think. If you were Thor, what would you give to bring your lover back to life?  
> Your hand? Your thrown? Your soul?  
> It's up to you.


End file.
